1885 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

one of Satan's most successful temptations, until he is bound.One of our duties is to resist this temptation and to try and proveevery doctrine by the Word of God. And this remark applies asmuch to popular Creeds and Catechisms which claim to be keysto the Scriptures, as to the little clip referred to. The only Godgivenkey to Scripture, is within itself. The harmonizing of itsvarious statements open to us its treasures. It has a "CombinationTime Lock," and cannot be opened by any other key.But let us examine the clipping in question. Dividing itsstatement and critically examining its parts, we may all see whatit means, viz.: Jesus' death on the cross did not reconcile us toGod; but when we put away sin and become dead in the sense ofhaving no desires for sin, we thereby commend ourselves toGod, and He receives us into fellowship, communion, etc. Ahyes, such a doctrine quickly commends itself to all the morallydisposed people of the world. In a word, though false, it is theWORLD'S HOPE, and is the basis of the achings of all the greatheathen philosophers and the core and centre of the mostprominent religions of the world.--Brahminism and Buddhism.The substance of this theory is--away with the cross of Calvary,away with ideas of a ransom, of a Redeemer, on whose accountmen are made at one with God. Let in the more modern light* ofreason and let us wash ourselves from sin-filthiness, and thencome thus to God in our own righteousness. Alas! they losesight of the fact that they are so tainted with sin that they cannotput it away. But their theory causes them to lose sight of realrighteousness and absolute perfection of thought, word and deed,so that thus self-deluded, some in every age, have attempted tocome before God in what He declares are the "filthy rags" oftheir own righteousness.But let us compare this suggested "key" with the Scripture whichit pretends to unlock. We read, Rom. 5:8-11. "We werereconciled to God by the death of His Son." That "key" don't fitthis lock--it is not the true key; it is a false one. The foregoingstatement of the apostle is the centre shaft of the true key, andnothing short of the recognition of "The death of His Son" as thecentre and handle can possibly turn the combination and openthe Scriptures.Let us compare carefully: not only does Paul not say we werereconciled to God by our death to sin, but he asserts that thereconciliation he refers to was accomplished "while we wereenemies" --"while we were YET SINNERS"; hence thereconciliation is not the result of our "slaying the enmity in us,"but as here stated the enmity or condemnation resting uponmankind through sin was destroyed, and the condemned oneswhile "enemies", "reconciled to God by the death of His Son"--"justified by His blood."